Brasch responds to Governor's spokesman

Thursday

Oct 3, 2013 at 9:20 AM

To the Editor: I won't respond to all these ridiculous spins from Dennis Roddy's rebuttal of my column about Gov. Corbett. But, the facts are facts.

To the Editor: I won't respond to all these ridiculous spins from Dennis Roddy's rebuttal of my column about Gov. Corbett. But, the facts are facts. Corbett DID cut $1 billion from higher education--the legislature restored much of that cut, but Roddy can't now claim only "only" a 12% reduction. It is well-documented what Corbett did to education in the state, and Mr. Roddy, the governor's "special assistant," can't dance around the facts. Second, on trade missions. I never said they were paid by taxpayers. BUT, the questions remain--how many tax dollars were directed to this "semi-private" organization from state departments? WHY were the "trade missions" even necessary when Pennsylvania should have focused on bringing American companies into the state and, more important, KEEPING Pennsylvania companies AND college graduates in the state? And why were so many state officials needed to go on these missions--did they all "repay" the taxpayers for lost work time? As to the job loss -- The Governor can spin all he wants, but Pennsylvania is still 49th in job creation. And, part of that is because Corbett inflated job numbers from fracking. That industry is now LEAVING the state; the temporary "boom" is going bust, and Corbett's call that he was going to make Pennsylvania the "Texas of the natural gas industry" is now little more than political gesturing. Not just Democrats are upset with the Governor, so are Republicans, according to several independent polls. The reason Roddy didn't respond to the other points in the column are simple--he couldn't spin and rebut the rest of the facts. It's sad to see a former journalist who once had high credibility now selling himself as a PR guy, ignoring the facts, and trying to paint them a different color.Signed)Walter M. Brasch, Ph.D.